


I like you (it's not a secret that I try to hide)

by sunfl0w3r



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Inspired By Tumblr, M/M, i tried lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 08:23:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17804486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunfl0w3r/pseuds/sunfl0w3r
Summary: Three times that the Losers almost outed Eddie's crush on Richie, and the one time they did.





	I like you (it's not a secret that I try to hide)

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that part 4 has some very intense Hamilton references... if you don't understand Hamilton, you may be completely lost for that bit

  * Part One



 

fire of my loins: come onnnnnn rich

apple of my eye: i love you babe but im not telling you who my crush is

fire of my loins: but whyyyyyyy

apple of my eye: because you'll make me confess to him

fire of my loins: and you'd get together because of it??? wjat's your point

apple of my eye: he wouldn't like me tho and it'd make things weird

fire of my loins: of COURSE he'd like you rich

fire of my loins: youre irrisistable

apple of my eye: yeah yeah

fire of my loins: he likes guys right?

apple of my eye: hes as gay as he is cute

apple of my eye: which is, to say, a fuck ton

fire of my loins: then what's holding you back?!!!!

fire of my loins: i mean seriously what could go wong

apple of my eye: he's

apple of my eye: i don't wanna ruin what we have by making a move

apple of my eye: i like being his friend

fire of my loins: wait

fire of my loins: someone gay... cute... and your friend

fire of my loins: /no/

fire of my loins: could it be...?

fire of my loins: ... eddie?

apple of my eye: ...

apple of my eye: ok

apple of my eye: bev

apple of my eye: you have to promise not to tell him

fire of my loins: babe

fire of my loins: you know i would never do amything to hurt you

apple of my eye: thanks, love

 

Bev put down her phone with a grin, practically bursting with excitement. Her best friends liked each other! Finally, after years of Eddie's pining, they could finally get together! With a grin as bright as the sun, she leapt out of bed, making quick work of tripping down the stairs and out the front door to where her bike had been discarded on the grass.

 

The ride to Eddie house was quick, and she leapt off her bike when she got there, barely wincing as the handle grazed her thigh. Letting her bike fall to the ground, she ran to the front door, not noticing the bike that leaned against the old oak tree in Eddie's yard, the one that the losers often climbed up whenever Eddie was grounded. The branches weren't very convenient for climbing, and each of the losers had fallen out of it at least three times, or more, and gotten several scars from the wiry branches. Eddie, even, had fallen from the branches, breaking his arm. It had taken a huge cover story to prevent Sonia from chopping down the tree and banning him from seeing the losers ever again, but he'd thought fast when she'd confronted him, weaving an intricate story of how he'd been walking home from school and tripped off the curb, landing wrong on his arm.

 

Practically skipping, Bev ran up to the door, excitement racing through her like electricity in her veins, making her jittery. Noticing the lack of the car in the driveway, she simply bent down to grab the key from under the leaves of the plastic flower in the plant pot beside the door, and let herself in.

 

"Eddie!" She screeched, bounding inside, and letting the door swing shut. "Darling! I have wonderful news!"

 

There was a crash from upstairs, and the pattering of footsteps. "So... I was talking to the love of your life, and guess what I found out?"

 

Eddie's voice came indistinctly throughout the house, and he scrambled down the stairs with a meaningful look on his face, a finger on his lips. In confusion, Bev tilted her head. "What?" her voice was hushed.

 

/Richie's here/, he mouthed, eyes wide.Bev blinked, understanding flashing across her face.

 

"Oh." Wetting her lips, she swallowed quietly, searching for a way to cover her tracks. "I found out..." she said, voice loud again. "I found out that- uh." She cleared her throat. "In math! Mrs. Geracy's letting us work together! On the project! Isn't that wonderful!" Putting as much enthusiasm as she could into her voice, she grinned fakely, shifting restlessly from one foot to the other.

 

"Oh! Yay!" Eddie forced an uncomfortable smile, and they heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Richie peaked his head out from around the corner, then grinned, and fired himself across the floor, wrapping Bev in a hug. Then, grabbing onto her shoulders, he leaned back, searching her eyes with a bit of confusion in his gaze. Only a moment later, though, he pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek.

 

"Howdy, m'am. What brings ye to this fine establishment?" A drawling southern accent spilled from his lips like molasses, melting Bev's artificial smile into a genuine one.

 

"I just wanted to share some good news with my here comrade, partner." She grinned, returning Richie's poor accent with one of her own. At Richie's raised eyebrow, she tried her best to form a reassuring expression. "Nothin' to do with ye', er, partner. I'm a lass of my word." He nodded.

 

Behind them, Eddie looked between the two with a bewildered expression, utterly clueless.

 

  * Part Two



 

"Bev, is there a light in here? I can't find anything in this darkness." Eddie squinted into the darkness of Bill's closet, eyes narrowed. The rest of the losers were all in the living room, supposedly getting ready for bed, though they all knew that they'd be up into the early hours of the morning. Bev, however, had escorted Eddie into Bill's room to help look for blankets, though she wasn't much help, simply leaning against a wall and playing with her bracelets.

 

"Yeah, it's outside. I'll turn it on." With a sly, shadowed expression, she walked out of the closet, closing the door behind her. Eddie didn't think much of it until he heard a scraping noise, like a chair being dragged. He was still in darkness.

 

"Bev? What are you doing?" Stepping towards the door, he pushed it, but it was secured shut. "Bev! What the fuck! Let me out!" Voice growing frantic, he pushed against the door again; throwing his weight into it, but to no avail.

 

"Good things will come tonight," was all Bev said, her voice solemn.

 

"Wh- what the fuck does that mean? Open up!" He pounded on the door, barely hearing the click of Bill's bedroom door opening, and Bev exiting. "Bev...?" Losing his vigor, Eddie pounded the door one last time, letting his hand rest against the door in darkness. "What the fuck." Though adrenaline was still rushing through his veins, he relaxed against the door, knowing it was no use, and he had no desire to hurt his hand. Plus, he trusted Bev, despite her unpredictability.

 

Eventually, he sat down, relaxing against the wall, his eyes shut. It was peaceful in there, Eddie had to admit.

 

After a few minutes of silence, a shout drew Eddie out of his trance, and he opened his eyes, blinking into the darkness as the sound of a struggle filled the room.

 

"Bev, what the hell? Did you- did you lock Eddie in the closet? Why the fuck would you do that?" There was the sound of a chair moving, and the closet door moved a little. "Wh- wait what are you doing? Don't push me!" In one swift movement, the closet door swung open, and Richie fell inside, just barely missing Eddie as he toppled to the ground. Then, the closet door shut again, and the chair was returned. Cursing, Richie sat up, blinking in the sudden darkness. In those few moments, before Richie's eyes adjusted, Eddie was free to stare openly at the boy, taking in his disheveled beauty.

 

"Now," came Bev's voice, commanding. "You two, confess."

 

It seems Richie's eyes had adjusted, for the boy looked to Eddie, shooting a wink at him.

 

"Heya, Eds. Fancy meeting you here." Eddie shrugged him off, grateful his blush was hidden by the darkness, and looked towards the door.

 

"Confess what, Bev? This isn't fair!" But she was gone. There was a moment of silence.

 

"So..." Richie finally broke the silence. "Wanna make out?"

 

"Wh- what?" Eddie spluttered, eyes huge.

 

"I mean, we're locked in a closet. What else is there to do? I mean, I guess we could do more than make out. I've got two hands and a willing mouth, after all." Richie's grin was huge, and Eddie didn't notice the nervous sincerity hidden in it.Breathing shaky, Eddie wet his lips, trying to ignore the temptation to agree- he knew Richie was just joking.

 

"I-" fuck. His voice was shaking almost as much as his hands. "Very funny, Rich."

 

"I'm not joking, babes." Eddie's heart rate picked up a bit as Richie scooted towards him, closing the distance between them until they were just a few inches apart. Trying not to show how affected he was, Eddie swallowed, doing his best to keep his gaze from darting down to Richie's lips.

 

"R- Richie... you don't need to act like this around me. I know you don't wanna."

 

"But, Eds... I do." His warm breath tickled Eddie's neck, making the smaller teen shiver.

 

"Yeah, sure," Eddie scoffed, almost believing Richie. He met his gaze nervously, wetting his lips.

 

"Trust me, Eds." Timidly, Richie laid his hand on Eddie's thigh, their faces only inches apart now. Eddie felt his heart flutter, on the verge of fainting. Slowly, Richie moved in a little more, his glasses barely gleaming in the faint light that shone from under the closet door.

 

The sound of footsteps interrupted them, though, before anything could happen, along with Bill's voice, and the boys froze, returning to their original spots as if they'd been caught doing something that they weren't supposed to, hearts both beating erratically. 

 

"Bev, you locked them in the clos-suh-set? Are you fucking suh- suh-" he groaned, Eddie could almost imagine the irritation on his face at his stutter. "are you kidding me? You know that Eh- Eddie would just refuse to duh-do anything, even though he wuh-wants tuh-tuh-"

 

A series of shushes cut him off, the footsteps growing closer, and entering the room.

 

"They can hear you," a voice hissed, sounding like Stan. Beside Eddie, Richie had a slightly confused expression on his face. Turning to look at the other boy, question on his lips, Richie raised an eyebrow, preparing to speak, but the loud screech if the chair being pushed aside and the closet opening interrupted him, again. Eddie blinked, blinded by the sudden light.

 

"So sorry, guys." Mike shot a stern glance at Bev before turning back to Eddie and Richie, holding out a hand to pull them up. Richie obliged him first, pulling himself up with a bright grin.

 

"T'was nothing, good sir. I got to spend some quality time with my boy, tha's all that matters." Eddie tried not to blush, pulling himself up after Richie'd let go of Mike's hand.

 

"Thanks." He smiled gently up at Mike, who nodded. Then, he looked to Bev, narrowing his eyes. "Not cool, Bev." She shrugged, looking disappointed. Both standing now, Eddie and Richie shared a meaningful glance, unsure of what had nearly happened meant.

 

  * Part 3



 

"Angelica, remind me what we're looking for?" Eddie sang, impressively managing to reach the high notes as he flounced across the room, hand in hand with Stan and Ben.

 

"I'm looking for a mind at work, work, work work." Joining in, he and Stan's voices rose and fell, dopey grins stretching across their faces. Richie entered the scene with a woop, eyes bright.

 

"There's nothing like summer in the city, someone in a rush meets someone looking pretty," he shot a wink at Eddie, grin bright as he sang. "Excuse me miss, I know it's not funny, but your perfume smells like your daddy's got money." He brushed past Eddie, his lips brushing his ear. "I'll be your daddy," he whispered, Eddie's cheeks reddening. 

 

"Wait, wait." Mike walked into the scene, interrupting them. "Hold up. Richie, I'm sorry, but you need to be Alexander. You just do. I'll be Burr."

 

"Wh- what?" Richie blinked in surprise, looking confused. "But I love Burr." Mike looked sympathetic, but stern.

 

"Rich. You gotta be Hamilton."

 

"But why?" His voice took on a whining tone.

 

"You'd just make a better Alex. You fit him."

 

"I- I mean... ok. But I wanna be Burr! He's like- the best!"

 

"I know." Mike was gentle. "But Eliza has a crush on Alex." Several pairs of eyes fell wide open, and Mike stumbled to cover his tracks, both Eddie, and Richie's faces bright red. "I- I mean. You-" The losers all exchanged glances, looking worried. Richie, on the other hand, just looked confused.

 

"Well, like." Ben stumbled over his words, struggling to cover for Mike. "You and Eddie are- uh- you and Eddie. We just figured that you two would prefer to get married rather than Bill and Eddie, I guess. That's all." Richie looked skeptical, and Eddie looked mortified, his cheeks bright pink.

 

"Seriously, Rich. Wouldn't you prefer to marry Eddie than watch Bill do it? Don't be an Angelica," Stan spoke up, the irony of what he'd said not lost on him. At this, Richie shrugged, seeming convinced.

 

"Ok, I'll be Alex."

 

  * Part 4



 

"Don't call me Eds!" Richie squeaked, slowly perfecting his Eddie imitation. The boy had been working on the imitation for months, but only now was it starting to sound like the real thing. He stared into the mirror as the ran a hand through his unkempt hair, practicing the rises and falls which Eddie spoke with. With a soft giggle, he turned away from the mirror, still babbling as he fished through his closet for something to wear. "I love Richie." He grinned at how much it sounded like Eddie, but a pang of melancholy rested in him, as he knew it was just an imitation.Throwing on a bright flannel, he left his room, humming loudly as he stumbled down his stairs, then out the front door. "It's not pink," he spoke to himself, a grin on his face. "It's /salmon/, Richie." He grabbed his bike from where it rested on the wilted grass, and pedalled off, down the street.

 

His house was only a few minutes away from the park, where the losers often met on the weekends, and he got to the park quickly, only a little out of breath. Hopping off his bike, he discarded it on the grass, and ran across the ground, to where the rest of the losers, sans Eddie, who was probably late, were gathered, their backs to him. Still a bit away from them, Richie had time to think, this being the perfect time to test out his Eddie impression. But, what to say? T'was the question. The lanky-limbed teen slowed to a quick trot, as he neared them, his untied shoelaces smacking against the ground with every step.

 

"Oh my gosh, guys," he said, his voice ringing in a perfect imitation. "I'm so in love with Richie." The losers didn't even turn around, a few annoyed sighs resonating from them. Richie froze.

 

"For the last time Eddie, we /know/," came Stan's voice, sounding annoyed, yet amused.

 

"Y-yeah. Do you ever suh-stop thinking about him?"

 

Richie choked, frozen in place.

 

"I mean," Bill turned, gaze lingering on Stan. "Yuh-you never suh-seem to suh-stop talking abuh-bout him, suh-so I wuh-" Bill froze, his gaze landing on Richie's stricken face. "Shu-shit."

 

"Holy fuck." Richie's voice was barely more than a shaky whisper, his eyes huge. "What?"

 

The rest of the losers had all turned around now, looking vaguely terrified. For a few moments, the silence was deafening, then everyone started yelling, their voices high as they expressed their distress at outing Eddie's crush. Richie, for once, was quiet, eyes huge behind his bottle-cap glasses. "Wh- wait." Therabble fizzled out, all eyes landing on him. "Eddie... Eddie likes me? He loves me?"He blinked a few times, still trying to process this. Eddie, beautiful, witty, adorable Eddie, whose laugh lit up the entire world, and whose smile melted Richie into a puddle of warm goo, liked /Richie/? There was quiet again as the losers exchanged glances.

 

"Uh..." Stan was the one to speak up. "Yeah."

 

Slowly, gradually, Richie's shock began to drain away, leaving pure euphoria in its stead.

 

"Yes!" His voice was loud, shocking all of the losers as he pumped a fist into the air. "FUCK YEAH!" With a grin wider that he'd thought was possible, Richie jumped into the air, thrumming with excitement. "Yeah, baby!" Upon landing, he broke out into a ridiculous dance, limbs flailing in excitement. Smiles broke out amongst the losers, relief washing over them as they relaxed. "Eddie likes me, baby! Eddie loves me! Fuck yeah! I love Eddie, too!"

 

A little bit away, Eddie stood, watching Richie with a small smile. Upon hearing his words, his smile grew, spreading into a grin, one that tugged at his eyes and made dimples dip into his cheeks. He ran across the grass, closing the distance between them until he was right behind Eddie, the losers all looking at him with glad smiles.

 

"Uh... Rich?" Richie froze, turning to face Eddie, looking both thrilled, and terrified. "Hi."

 

"Hi." They exchanged nervous smiles.

 

"I, uh..." Eddie swallowed. "I heard some of what happened before I got here."

 

Richie nodded. "I um. I love you." The lanky teen smiled, the words sounding so much better from Eddie's perfect lips.

 

"And I love you." He wet his lips. "I have for a while, Eds."

 

He smiled.

 

"Me too." Eddie ignored the losers' excitement from behind Richie.

 

"Can I uh..." Looking nervous again, Richie wet his lips. "Can I kiss you?" Eddie nodded. And Richie kissed him.

 

/fin/

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!! Please leave some kudos/comments, or hmu on Tumblr @ chemicalsandwords :))


End file.
